Wars are getting smarter but that doesn't mean better

Smart bombs are supposed to make clever wars. So a report that Israel is claiming a world record – don't ask who keeps score – for the use of smart bombs in a single campaign caught my eye.

The Israeli military has said 81 per cent of munitions dropped on Gaza in the 22-day Operation Cast Lead were precision guided. It added that the percentage rose to 100 per cent in residential areas.The equivalent figure in Lebanon in 2006 was 36 per cent.

The figures in themselves are unlikely to win any converts from entrenched positions on the merits of the Gaza campaign. The controversies over the use of White Phosphorous in Gaza severely damaged Israel's standing in the aftermath of what was a successful roughing up of Hamas.

Elsewhere the implications of a high ratio of PGMs (Precision Guided Munitions) to other bombs is also mixed. In Iraq the figure is now close to 100 per cent, which is indicative the war is no longer about attacking bunkers and guerrilla camps but anti-terrorist campaigns on the ground.

In Afghanistan the proportion of smart weapons vs fire and forget devices used in current operations has risen to 93 per cent, perhaps a reflection of the use of drones but also the new commander's desire to see less attacks from the air and more fighting on the ground. But the toll of that conflict is escalating, so there is scarcely much cheer in these figures.

One last bit of technology wonkery that is more hopeful. America is claiming that biometric identification machines – iris scanners and finger print devices – which are carried by many troop patrols, enabled the capture of 400 wanted men in 2008.